What Is ESports And Can I Bet On It?

Published on December 17, 2016 by Darren @ Betting Gods

The brilliant thing about sports betting is that there are so many different things you can bet on nowadays. Most online betting companies have a plethora of sports for you to choose from. At the forefront of modern sports betting there is something called eSports. If you don’t know what eSports is then don’t worry. This informative guide will walk you through it and tell you how to bet on it and what you can bet on.

Get yourself nice and comfortable, and start reading:

Define eSports

Before we get into the interesting information on how to bet on eSports, you need to know what it is. Its name is an abbreviation of ‘electronic sports’ and refers to sports played on electronic systems. The most common type of eSports is video games. Typically, you will find professional eSports teams that go head to head against one another in tournaments.

eSports has officially been around since 1972 when the first professional video game tournament was held. Eight years later, and a video game championship was organised by Atari – the makers of Space Invaders – which received lots of attention over in the US. However, it’s only been recently where eSports has grown to the point where it enters betting markets. Popularity has risen, and there are now frequent tournaments to bet on all over the world. It’s an especially popular market for young people.

Popular eSports Games

Naturally, there are many video games out there that people can play. However, only a select few have become popular eSports games to bet on. Typically, you’re looking at video games that fall into either of these three categories; first person shooter, strategy, or multi-player online battle arena. In this section, I’ve listed a few of the most popular eSports that people bet on today:

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO)

CS: GO is the most popular first person shooter in the eSports world. It’s perhaps not the most played shooter by regular gamers, but, it’s one of the best games to bet on. Gameplay is fairly easy to follow which makes it exciting to watch. There are two teams; terrorists and counter-terrorists, with each team having an objective. The round will end when the objective is complete or all members of the opposing team have been killed. The first team to win a set number of rounds wins the match.

You can bet on CS: GO via any popular betting website online. You should look for tournaments and can bet on things like the winners of the tournament, winners of a match, or even which team wins the first round. Some bookmakers even let you bet on individual players!

League Of Legends (LoL)

LoL is possibly the most popular multiplayer online battle arena game out there at the moment. Players get to control a character in the game known as ‘champion.’ Their champion has different skills and will compete against other champions. To win a game of LoL, you must destroy the opposing teams building (Nexus). Players improve their champion throughout the game by gaining powers and obtaining items.

There are loads of LoL tournaments that take place throughout the year and include some of the best professional players in the world. You can bet on the outcome of matches, the first team to get a certain number of kills, and even the correct score.

StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty

The most popular strategy game to be on has to be StarCraft II. It’s a game that’s split into three different parts; the main game (Wings of Liberty) focuses on a unit called the Terrans. Then, there are two expansion packs (Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void) which include two new units called the Zerg and the Protoss.

People can bet on Starcraft II in numerous ways using a virtual currency called StarCraft minerals. However, you can always bet with real money too, on markets such as match winner, map winner, and various handicaps. There are regular StarCraft tournaments that capture large audiences on a monthly basis.

eSports Betting Tips

At this stage, you’re probably very eager to go and bet on an eSports match or tournament. Before you do, we’ll give you some tips to help you get more out of your bets and make some money.

Spend Some Time Watching eSports

It’s likely you’ll have no clue about any of the teams or players involved in eSports. So, it makes sense to do some research and watch a few matches before you bet. Most tournaments are streamed online for free at places like Twitch. My advice is to pick a video game or two and specialise in it. Watch plenty of matches and get to grips with the best teams, players, etc. Now, you can make more informed bets that stand a better chance of winning.

Look For The Best Odds

There are plenty of popular online bookmakers that now provide eSports betting markets. It’s your job to ensure you compare which one provides the best odds for the market you’re betting on. The top eSports bookmakers include; Bet365, Betway, Ladbrokes, William Hill, and Pinnacle. They all offer broad markets on various video games. One quick note; not all bookmakers will offer markets on every eSports game out there. So, be sure to look around and find one that deals with the video game you’re interested in.

Find Value Bets

Treat eSports betting just like regular sports betting and find the best value bets. Bet on match handicaps instead of the match result when good teams are playing bad teams. Take a look at all the different markets, and you will often find bets that present great value. First to a certain amount of kills is great value in games like CS: GO and LoL.

eSports is fastly becoming one of the most popular sports to bet on. It’s very similar to betting on regular sports matches and tournaments, it just involves video games. The odds system is the same, and you can place bets just like any other sport. If you’re looking for something new to bet on, why not give eSports a go?